Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgotten
by fanfictionawf
Summary: Airwolf, In keeping with my holiday themes this one is for New Years Eve. It is not connected to any of my other stories. What happens when Cait comes to a crossroad in her life. Will her decision change everyone forever.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story. They are not my own. I only cherish them.

My stories are set in real-time. Dom is a Vietnam vet and String and St. John were in Iraq post 9/11.

Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgotten

I was inspired by an old article I read recently. It was an interview with Jean Bruce Scott. I discovered that before she broke into TV she was a teen model in several of the popular teen magazines. I always thought she was beautiful on the show and had a good figure.

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Chapter One: The Offer

Cait sat in the office looking out the office window. 2015, it was hard to believe she had been with String and Dom for almost two years. She pulled out the small mirror she kept in her desk drawer and inspected her makeup. She woke up late and hurried to get ready for work. Fearing she had her lipstick on crooked she peered into the mirror. She was now twenty-eight. Normally she wouldn't be affected by her age but now she thought about the two years she had waited for String to return the feelings she had for him. It was if she had suddenly come to her senses the past few days that she was wasting her life on something that would never happen. She shivered at what she was thinking; it was time to move on. A feeling of sadness came over her.

"Morning Cait, is String in yet?" Dom asked as he grabbed a pastry from the box that Cait had brought in.

"I haven't seen him this morning."

"Don't you two need to finish the stunt at the studio this morning?"

"We have time. We don't need to be there for another hour."

"I thought you had a date tonight for New Years Eve?"

"I do, we should wrap up at the studio around three. That gives me plenty of time to be home for my date."

"You really like this guy huh?"

"I don't know, I've only been out with him a few times. He's nice and all but….."

"But he doesn't make your heart go pitter patter?"

Cait blushed. "Yeah something like that."

Dom hesitated. He wanted to talk to her about her feelings for String but didn't know how to approach the subject. He wanted her to be happy and he knew she was never going to find happiness with String. He feared that when she came to this realization she would leave. It would break his heart if she did, he loved her and she was good for Santini Air and the Airwolf team. Not to mention that because of her String was a lot easier to get along with. But it was not fair to let her waste her life hoping things would change. Before he had a chance to speak up String walked into the hangar.

"Dom, Cait." Was all he said as he headed for a much needed cup of coffee. He sat down on the edge of Cait's desk. "You ready to head to the studio Cait?"

"Sure, let me finish a few things here and we can leave."

The drive to the studio was a quiet one. Cait was thinking about what she was going to wear on her date. Dave did not say where they were going only that she needed to dress nice.

String, feeling that someone needed to say something spoke up first. "So any big plans for tonight?"

Cait knew he was only asking to be polite. "I have a date." was her short answer.

"Is it a secret or can I know with who?"

Cait smiled. "No it's not a secret; it's just that you wouldn't know him if I told you."

"Try me." He replied looking at her over his sunglasses.

"His name is Dave Masterson. See I said you wouldn't know him." She said smirking at him.

"He's a lawyer from the prosecutor's office."

Cait looked surprised. "You know him?"

"No, I know of him. So where's he taking you?"

"I don't know. I just know he has reservations somewhere."

"That doesn't sound very romantic."

Cait rolled her eyes. "And what would you know about romance?"

"Hey I can be romantic if I need to be."

"If you need to be? Cait was now shaking her head in disbelief.

String was laughing to himself. He loved to get her all riled up. When he did her checks would get red and her eyes would flash.

Cait decided to turn the tables on him "So what are your plans tonight? Planning on holing up at the cabin avoiding the new year?"

"Nope, I have a date." String replied cheerfully.

The words were like a dagger to her heart. Now she wished she wouldn't have asked. String knew his answer hurt her. He was sorry he started the conversation. He was well aware that she had feelings for him. Feelings he would never return. He was content with their relationship. She was his best friend outside of Dom. He was not the marrying kind. Cait was not the kind of woman that would settle for a casual relationship like he had with other women, besides he respected her too much for that.

Cait didn't ask any more questions as they both maintained their silence throughout the drive to the studio.

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"Ok, that's a wrap." The director shouted as Cait and String landed the helicopter and plane they were flying for the stunt.

As they were walking to the Santini jeep to leave a very beautiful well dressed woman approached them.

"Miss O'Shannessy, I'm Ann Jackson an editor for "Professional Glamour" magazine. Is there a place I can talk to you?"

Cait looked totally surprised as she pointed to String. "Sure, but he's my ride."

"And you are?" She said holding her hand out to String.

" Hawke, and I can wait on Cait in the jeep."

"Thank you Hawke, I won't keep her long."

Cait followed the woman to a nearby table that was out of the sun and sat down with her.

"Cait, I'm sure you're wondering why I want to speak with you."

Cait's mind was spinning. This magazine was about professional women but the cover always had a beautiful woman on it. She thought maybe they needed a pilot and preferred to hire a woman.

"I can't imagine what you could want with me Ann."

"My magazine is doing a whole layout devoted to professional women that are in a male dominated line of work. I did a lot of searching and you fit the kind of woman we are looking for."

Cait cocked her head to one side. "And what kind would that be?"

Ann laughed; she found it refreshing that Cait didn't have a clue as to how talented and beautiful she was.

"Well, you're talented, smart, sophisticated and beautiful. Just what we need. We have several other women we will be featuring. They range from a firefighter to a top trader on Wall Street. I felt a pilot would be a good choice for the mix."

Cait didn't know what to say. "I am flattered that you would pick me out of all the women professionals out there but I have a job here and I wouldn't want to leave them shorthanded. I would think something like this would take me away from work for a long period of time?"

Ann took out her business card and handed it to Cait. "Yes you would need to dedicate at least four weeks to the shoot. I hope you don't mind but I asked the studio for photos of you. I was very impressed. I think we may have more work for you. I'm not just looking for a few weeks of your time Cait; I think you may have a career in modeling."

Picking up her bag and sunglasses off the table she laid her hand on Cait's shoulder. "You think about it and if you decide you would like to do this give me a call. I need your answer soon."

Cait looked at the card then put it in her pocket and walked back to the jeep where String was laid back with his eyes closed. Cait climbed in without saying a word.

Seeing that Cait was not about to offer an explanation as to what the woman wanted he decided to ask.

"What was that all about?"

Cait looked out the window as she answered. "She wants me to do a photo shoot for her magazine."

String was losing patience with her. "Well do I need to drag the details out of you?"

Cait laughed. "There's not much to tell. They're looking for professional women that are in male dominated jobs. They want a pilot is all"

"Cait I've seen the cover of that magazine before. It's not just about professional women. I think there is a standard in looks that is required. The fact that they picked you is a big deal. When do you start?"

Cait was taken aback by his last question. She thought he would be upset at the prospect of her leaving and here he was asking her when she would start.

"I told her I already had a job."

"I would think you would jump at a chance like this Cait. This could lead to bigger and better things for you."

Cait was silent for a moment before answering. "What makes you think that's what I want?"

"I just thought that this might be something new and exciting is all I was saying."

Cait grinned at him. "Like I don't get enough excitement flying Airwolf?"

String looked over and winked at her. "I guess your right about that."

When they pulled up to the hangar Cait saw that Dom was already gone. She gathered her things and stepped out of the jeep heading for her car. String started for the hangar and realized she was not following him inside.

"Hey Cait, you coming in?"

Cait put her things in the car and turned to answer him. "No, I'm heading home now. Since I won't be seeing you have a happy new year."

String watched her drive off. He realized that his reaction to her being offered the photo shoot was insensitive. A part of him wanted her to stay but a bigger part of him wanted her to leave. He knew nothing would ever happen between them and as long as she stayed she would continue to be unhappy. Locking up the hangar he headed home to get ready for his date.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Closure

Cait was just putting on her diamond earrings as the doorbell rang. He was right on time she thought. Just like a prosecuting attorney. It wasn't like he was unattractive; he was a very handsome man. Why was it she seemed to find little things not to like about him and always being right on time was one of them.

"Coming," she said as she reached for the door. Cait opened the door, Dave responded with a big smile.

"Cait, you look beautiful." He said as he kissed her on the cheek.

They had only been out a few times and it seemed like Dave was taking it slow. She didn't know if this was because he didn't want to move too fast or because she was not sending out the right signals letting him know it was ok to move further in the relationship. She thought the latter as probably more like it. The more she thought about it she realized that she had been finding all kinds of petty reasons not to like the men she had been dating. Maybe her Mom had been right when she told her she was sabotaging her own love life.

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Dave opened the car door for Cait as they pulled into the parking lot of "Velvet Blue" a new and exclusive Jazz club that had just opened.

Cait was a little impressed. "Dave how did you get tickets for tonight? I heard it was booked solid."

"OK, I have to admit that sometimes being a prosecuting attorney has its perks."

Cait looked alarmed.

Dave laughed at what she must have been thinking. "No I'm not taking bribes if that's what you're thinking; I went to Harvard with one of the owners. We're fraternity brothers."

Cait was blushing with embarrassment for thinking he might have engaged in unethical activity although she thought if he had it might have made him a little more interesting.

"Dave, I didn't mean to imply that you had done anything wrong, I just….."

"Cait, no need to explain. Actually I'm a little turned on that you think I could possibly have a dangerous edge to me."

They both laughed as he escorted her into the club. She didn't know much about Jazz but the place was beautiful. It was like walking into one of the underground jazz clubs from the movies. There was a balcony that went around the entire room with tables taking up every inch of space. The main floor was not as crowded. They approached the podium where everyone was giving their names to the man standing there. Dave did not need to give his name as the man recognized him.

"Mr. Masterson, right this way Sir." As he led them to a table that was out of the way and intimate.

Dave pulled Cait's chair out as she sat down.

"Wow Dave I'm impressed."

Dave was somewhat embarrassed and thought he needed to come clean with her. "Well to be honest Cait I was trying to impress you. I hope I didn't go too far."

Cait giggled. "No this is perfect." It was perfect, so why didn't she feel happy to be here?

The waiter brought over menus and took their drink order. Returning with their drinks he took their food order. As Cait was handing her menu to the waiter she caught sight of String as he was pulling out a chair for his date. Her heart sank. They were just four tables over from her and there was nothing blocking the view. The woman he was with had long dark brown hair. She was his height and had legs to match her height. She tried not to stare. She should have known he would be here since he was into jazz. She wished she was anywhere but here.

"Someone you know?' Dave said looking around.

Cait had almost forgotten Dave was there. "Ah yes, someone I work with."

Dave started to stand up."Should we go over and say hi?"

Cait was panicked and didn't mean to react the way she did. "No, that's ok. I'll say hi later" as she pulled his arm to sit back down.

Dave was perplexed at her reaction. "Sure, I guess we should let them order first." He said as he watched her bite at her lower lip. He sensed he should let this go for now.

Dinner was served, Cait tried to make light conversation but her eyes kept going to the table with the beautiful brunette and String. They were almost through with dinner and still String had not noticed she was there. She watched as he poured her another glass of wine. He had not taken his eyes off her. Unbeknownst to her Dave was aware that her attention was not at their table.

Plates were cleared as the musicians took the stage. The position of Strings table made it so he had to turn to see the stage. In doing so Cait was in his direct line of vision. Spotting her he suddenly had a feeling like he had done something wrong and was just caught. He didn't know why he felt that way he just did. Not knowing what else to do he nodded hello to her. She acknowledged back with a nod of her own. Dave watched the interchange between them. String decided he needed to go over to her table and introduce himself.

"I'm Hawke." He said as he extended his hand to Dave. "I work with Cait."

Dave stood up taking the offered hand firmly in his own. For some reason he felt like it was a pissing match and Cait was the prize.

"Dave" he replied back. "Nice to meet you Hawke. I haven't met any of Cait's friends yet."

String looked back over to his table giving the impression he needed to return. "I'd better get back." He said jerking his head toward his date. "Cait if we don't get a chance to talk again Happy New Year." He said as he reached down to kiss her. Cait's heart was beating faster. His lips touching hers and the knowledge that he would never feel anything else for her left her excited and empty at the same time. She watched him as he walked back to his date giving her his full attention. Something she would never have.

The hours passed. She danced several slow dances with Dave. A few times she came in close contact on the dance floor with String as he danced with his date. He made no effort to introduce her to them. She knew why, he didn't want to hurt her anymore than he needed to. The music stopped as the band leader asked everyone to start the countdown to midnight. Dave stood by Cait ready to kiss her at the stroke of midnight. As the countdown ended Dave took her in his arms. He closed his eyes as he kissed her. Hers remained opened. Peering over Dave's shoulder she watched as String passionately kissed his date. Pulling apart from her he motioned that they should leave. As he turned to leave he looked toward Cait. She hid her eyes in Dave's shoulder as she watched him looking at her. For a brief moment she thought maybe being in Dave's arms bothered him. He picked up his wine glass taking the last drink before he led his date to the door. Any hope she had that he had any feelings for her was gone.

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Cait bid Dave goodnight. He said he wanted to see her again. Why she couldn't say. It was obvious that her mind was not on him most of the night. She felt bad that she had been so transparent. Feeling she needed to make it up to him she agreed to see him again.

"I'll call you in the next few days Cait." He said as he headed for his car.

Cait closed the door. She retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator. Slowly opening the bottle she went over the events of the night in her head. Why has String never noticed me? Surely he knew how she felt. Suddenly chocking on the water Cait sat the bottle down saying out loud,"He doesn't know how I feel and how can he, I've never told him or given him a reason to think it."

Grabbing her car keys she headed out. Pulling into the hanger she started up the Jet Ranger. She needed to know how he felt about her. If she waited until morning she may not ever have the courage again. It was now or never. No matter what the answer was she was prepared to deal with it. She knew whatever the outcome was it would change things between them forever, good or bad.

Cait landed on the dock at the cabin. Her stomach was doing flip flops. As she stepped out on the dock her knees almost gave way. She thought about getting back in and leaving but decided she was there and needed to finish this.

String was pulling on his jeans as he looked out the loft window. "Damn" he said as his date was hurrying to put his shirt on. Running down to the door he opened it as Cait knocked.

"Cait, is anything wrong? Is Dom ok?"

Before she answered she thought how unprepared she was. "No, Dom is fine, everyone is fine. I mean everyone but me. Not that anything is wrong….."

String put a hand on her shoulder. "Cait, just tell me why you're here."

Before Cait could answer Strings date came to the door dressed only in his shirt. She stepped out onto the porch where they stood. "What's going on Hawke?" she asked as she stared at Cait.

"Nothing, go back inside." She didn't move. "Please" String said as he looked pleadingly to her.

As she turned to go Cait put her face in her hands. "I'm so stupid." She said as her face turned red. If there was ever a time she wanted to die it was now. The only thing she knew to do was run. String knew that would be her next move and caught her arm as she turned.

"Cait, you didn't come here for nothing. Tell me what's wrong. Did something happen with Dave?"

Cait was choking back tears. "No, everything is fine."

"Cait I want the truth and I'm not letting you go until I get it."

It was too late to back out now. She had to go through with it. There was no other way to explain why she showed up at his cabin in the middle of the night.

She took a breath. "I needed to know something."

"And" he said sensing getting this out of her was going to take some doing.

"String I've been keeping something from you for a very long time."

String now wished he hadn't asked. He knew where this was headed and that he was about to hurt her.

"Cait, maybe we should talk about this tomorrow."

"No, I need some closure in my life and the only way I'm going to get it is by telling you how I feel." She looked at his eyes that were full of compassion and already knew her answer but she asked anyway.

"I love you String, I have always loved you and I don't mean as a friend. I need to know how you feel about me."

At this moment String would have taken combat over having to answer her. He met her eyes as he saw the desperation in them. He was about to shatter her world. Someone he loved more than his own life but he needed to be honest with her no matter how much it hurt.

"Cait, you know I love you, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you." Cait closed her eyes, the pain was unbearable. She waited for the final blow. "There will never be any more between us then the deep friendship we have. I hope that will be enough for you because I don't want to lose you."

Strings date interrupted before Cait could respond "Hawke, are you coming back to bed?" she shouted out. String ignored her. He waited for Cait to breathe again searching her face for a reaction. Cait forced back the sobs that were beating at the back of her throat trying to escape. As soon as she had them under control she spoke.

"Thank you for being honest with me String, I know that had to be hard on you. This was such a stupid thing to do on my part. I don't know what I was thinking."

String tried to hug her but she put him at arm's length as she held out her hand to stop him. "I'm OK really."

"Cait you don't look OK to me. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Cait wiped the tears that had escaped. "It's not your fault, you can't help the way you feel any more than I can. I think I'd better go now. I already ruined your evening." She turned to leave.

"Wait, Cait let me fly you home. You're in no condition to fly right now."

Cait turned back to face him with a grin on her face. "String I've flown with you while we took down MIGs, I think I can fly with a broken heart." String flinched at her last words.

Not wanting him to feel any guiltier then he did she said, "Lighten up flyboy, I was just teasing." With that she walked toward the dock.

String started to go after her but stopped. What else could he say? Stopping her would just make things worse. He decided to let her leave with any shred of dignity she had left. Watching her take off he sat outside thinking about what had just taken place. Somehow he knew he had just lost his best friend. 2015 was going to be different. He hoped he was ready for the change.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: The New Beginning

After String sat out on the porch for almost an hour after he watched Cait fly away he went back to bed where he found his date sound asleep. He was relieved she wasn't awake. He didn't think he could be with anyone right now. He was cold from sitting outside without a shirt and shoes and decided to go downstairs and light a fire. The last time he felt this kind of hurt was when he lost St. John in Iraq. He loved Cait with all his heart. Other than Dom and St. John there was no one else he loved more. He wished he could feel for her the way she felt for him. He would never allow that. It was best that they finally got it out in the open. He wouldn't see Cait for another week. There wasn't much work for them this week so Dom had closed the hangar. He picked up his cell phone deciding he should call and check on her. He didn't like the way they left things. It went into voicemail. Instead of hanging up he waited to hear her voice on the recording. He didn't intend on leaving a message, he just wanted to hear her voice. Before the recording stopped he hung up. As he did he noticed the sun coming up. He glanced at the grandfather clock, 7:00 am. He hadn't realized he stayed up the whole night thinking.

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Cait pulled up to her house. She was tired, more tired and drained then she had ever been before. It was 7:00 am. She didn't realize she had been driving all night. At one point she had stopped and parked by the ocean. She sat there for hours thinking about what had just transpired between the two of them. Getting out of her car she thought. "What now, I have my answer so where do I go from here?" She walked into her house and started a pot of coffee. As she was waiting for it to brew she noticed the business card she had discarded and forgotten about on the counter. Professional Glamour Magazine it read. She picked the card up. It was staring her right in the face. She had her answer from String, now all she needed was a graceful exit. This couldn't have happened at a better time she thought. Maybe God was looking out for her as if he knew she would need a new start in life. Picking up the phone she dialed the number on the card.

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Dom wondered who could be at the door. He wasn't expecting anyone. Opening the door he had a big smile on his face. "Cait, come on in sweetheart." He began to clean up the newspaper that was scattered on the floor and dishes that were on the coffee table. Cait couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry kid, I wasn't expecting company the day after New Years. What's on your mind?"

Dom began to worry, he could tell Cait needed to tell him something but couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Just spit it out Cait." He said as he sat down.

"You always could read me Dom."

"Yeah, why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like what I hear?"

After Cait left Dom sat in his oversized recliner feeling numb. She was leaving. He tried to get his mind around the words but his heart was not cooperating. String had called him yesterday announcing he was going ice fishing with a friend of his and would not be reachable by phone. Now he understood the unplanned trip. He knew some how he was involved in her decision. Not because she said so but because she never brought his name up once as she told him about her plans. He had a hard time reading her this time. She seemed sincere about being excited. He didn't know if he should talk her out of it or not or if he even could. She had spent yesterday at the hangar rearranging the schedule and making arrangements for her students. He knew this was a spur of the moment decision. She just got the job offer three days ago. He wished String were there to talk her out of it or at least find out if it was really what she wanted. She would be gone by the time he returned. 2015 was not starting out as a good year for him.

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Cait was packing her last box of clothes. She knew the photo shoot would only take a month or so but she planned on not coming back. If she was going to start a new life she wanted to make a clean break of it. Besides that she didn't think she could ever face String again. Whatever they did have between them would never be the same. She would much rather walk out with the good memories she had. She heard her cell phone ringing in the living room. She stopped packing to go answer it.

"Hey Michael what's, up?"

"Why don't you tell me what's up Cait?"

"I'm not sure what you mean?" Cait replied looking as if she didn't know where this was going.

"Cait I was informed that your social security number was entered in the payroll for a magazine called Professional Glamour. When I looked into it I found out that you took a job with them. Were you going to tell me this?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry Michael. I guess I should have let you know. It's just that it happened so fast."

"Do you think you can stop in my office today? We have some things to talk about and over the phone is not the way to do it."

"Sure, give me an hour and I'll be there." Cait was a little nervous. She had completely forgotten that her affiliation with Airwolf bound her to the FIRM. They knew where all three of them were most of the time. They had access to their bank accounts, phone records and anyone who was looking into them was reported and Michael was informed. She hoped he wouldn't give her a hard time. She understood his position. She was about to leave with one of the biggest weapons secrets the military had. Outside of the FIRM's protection she was a sitting duck. It also put them all in a very precarious place. If anyone got their hands on her they would use her as leverage against Dom and String. This was not going to be as easy as she thought.

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Cait waited outside of Michael's office waiting to be announced. She heard loud voices and they seemed to be arguing. Soon the door opened and a very angry Zeus appeared. He looked straight past Cait as he stomped out. Michael waved her in.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm the reason for that outburst?"

"Because you are. But don't worry I can handle Zeus.

Michael motioned for her to sit down. "I think it's best if we start from the beginning Cait."

Cait gathered her thoughts. She was debating how much she was going to reveal and more to the point if she would say the reason she was leaving. "I wasn't planning this Michael; I want you to know that. I was approached by a magazine editor a few days ago with an offer to do a photo shoot of professional women. I thought about it and decided it was time for a change."

Michael scrutinized her every movement trying to figure out the frame of mind she was in. He understood that she wanted a change. What he really wanted to know was why.

"Why now?"

"Why not?" Cait answered.

"I asked you first."

Cait knew Michael was on to her. If she didn't come clean she knew he would drill String over her reason for leaving.

"I told String I loved him."

Michael was expecting as much. "And he didn't reciprocate?"

Cait lowered her head. "You can guess the rest. I made a complete fool of myself and put him on the spot. I know he never wanted to hurt me but I just had to know where I stood for sure."

Michael hurt for her. He had a feeling she was in love with String but kept it to himself. "Cait you know String will never let himself fall in love with anyone. And if he did I always thought it would be you."

"Thank you for that Michael. Just knowing he does love me in his own way isn't enough to keep me here."

"Well about that, we need to talk about how the FIRM will handle you leaving."

Cait looked up alarmed. "They won't send Zebra Squad after me will they?"

Michael busted out laughing. "No I think they will let you live. But I will need you to spend the day tomorrow going through a debriefing. You will be given instructions on how to conduct yourself if you are faced with any possible threat. They will also ask you to sign some papers stating that you will not divulge any confidential information regarding the FIRM or Airwolf."

Cait nodded that she understood. Michael went over and hugged her tight. "I'm really going to miss you Cait. I hope you find what you're looking for.

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Dom stood at the airport terminal with her. In all the time she knew him she had never sen him cry until today.

"Cait, are you sure you won't change your mind about leaving?"

Cait reached up and dabbed his tears with a tissue handing it to him. "No, I need to do this for myself Dom. Besides it's not like I won't come back and visit."

He heard her say the words but he somehow didn't believe them.

He knew in his heart she wouldn't come back and he knew why. "Sure kid, when you're in-between jobs you can always visit."

They called Cait's flight. Dom reluctantly let her go. She kissed him one last time as he watched her board the plane. Almost two years had passed since the night he saw her in the back of that pickup truck being assaulted by a group of men. They saved her that night. As it turned out she would save them months later. She had given them much more than they ever gave her in return. No one could ever take her place.

Cait watched as the plane left the ground. She looked away as it lifted up. She was not going to look back, it was too painful. It was going to take a lot to mend her broken heart but she knew she could do it.

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Monday morning String was relieved to see that Cait's car was not at the hangar yet. He hadn't spoken to Dom since he returned late last night. He wanted a chance to talk to him before Cait arrived. He needed his advice on how to handle what had happened between them. Walking into the hangar he thought it was too quiet. He saw Dom sitting in the office going over some paper work.

"Morning Dom, I need to talk to you before Cait gets here."

Dom answered him without looking up. "You got all the time in the world kid."

"Why, isn't she coming in today?" He asked the question already fearing what the answer was going to be.

Dom was still looking intently at the papers in front of him. His answer was short and to the point.

"She doesn't work here anymore. She took that modeling job with the magazine. The new schedule is on the board."

String took a sip of his coffee trying to cover up the emotions that were surging through him. "I was afraid of that" was all he said as he walked out of the office.

He stood looking the hangar over. It will never be the same without her. He didn't just lose a good friend; he lost a part of his heart. Outside of Dom no one knew him the way Cait did. When they flew together whether it was Airwolf or a helicopter she was like a part of him able to react before he even gave her a command as if she knew what his next move would be. He could have just told her he loved her back and all of this could have been avoided but that wouldn't have been fair to either one of them. She would have seen right through it anyway.

Dom came out of the office and put his arm around Strings shoulder. "No one thinks it's your fault kid. You can only feel what you feel and nothing can change that. Let's say we get some work done huh?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Dom took the stack of mail from the mailman. Throwing each piece down on the desk as he murmured "Junk, junk, more junk, BINGO! He sat down eager to open the letter from Cait. She had been gone five weeks now. To Dom it felt like a lifetime. Cait promised the last time she spoke to him that she would write and catch him up on her new life. Dom gently opened the letter and began to read.

It started out, "Dear Dom, I sure do miss you." She went on to say she also missed flying but New York was an exciting place to be. Dom laughed out loud when he got to the part about her eating gummy bears in front of the women at the magazine. It went on to say, "We were sitting down for a much needed break. I reached in my bag and pulled out my stash of gummy bears when I heard several of the women gasp in horror. One said to me"You're not really going to eat those are you?" "I said sure and ate the whole bag right in front of them. I swear Dom I think these women live off bottled water." Dom was wiping the tears as he laughed. He remembered how Cait always kept a bag of gummy bears in her desk drawer. String would get on to her about how they were just pure sugar. She went on to say she had made some new friends and other small talk. Dom noticed that she didn't mention String. The last time he spoke to her over the phone he could tell String wanted to know if she asked about him. He was being just as tight lipped over her as she was over him. He was finishing the letter when String walked in.

"That from Cait?" He asked as he peered over Dom's shoulder.

"Yeah, you want to read it?" Dom replied as he handed him the piece of paper.

String hesitated but decided he needed some kind of contact from her. He missed her more than he thought he would. He also laughed out loud when he got to the part about the gummy bears. He imagined that the women there had to hate her. She was the only woman he knew that could eat whatever she wanted and not gain an ounce. Part of that he thought was because she could never sit still. She always had to be doing something.

Dom took the letter from String and carefully folded it and put in his desk drawer. "I sure do miss our girl." He said as he went back to work.

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Several days later Dom was in the office and String was under the jet ranger when Everett came running in out of breath. "It's out." He shouted. "Cait's photo shoot, I have the magazine."

Dom came running out as String was up wiping his hands.

"Here I got one for each of us." Everett handed them a copy.

Dom took his like it was an expected Christmas present heading back to the office to savor the moment. Everett was outside looking at his with some of the other guys at the air field. Dom turned to see String set his down without looking at it.

"Aren't you going to even open it?"

String was a bit embarrassed; he didn't want to tell Dom that he wanted to look at it when he was alone at the cabin. Dom silently understood his reluctance to share in his exuberance over the photos.

"If you don't mind Dom I'm going to head home. I'll finish this fuel pump tomorrow."

Dom waved him on. "Sure kid, I'll see you in the morning."

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String finished his supper dishes and sat down on the couch with a glass of wine and the magazine with Cait's photos. He was anxious to see how they turned out. He thumbed through the pages until he came to the article about exceptional and beautiful professional women. Each had three pages that were dedicated to them. There were several photos that showed them at work. They were featured in casual clothes and at least one evening gown. In between the photos were paragraphs telling about the woman that were featured. He didn't bother reading about the other women. Finally he came to Cait. He was not prepared for what he saw.

The first picture was her in tan pants and a white long sleeved shirt that was unbuttoned low enough that you could see just the rounded tops of her breast, The shirt tails were tied in a knot around the front of her waist. She had on brown riding boots with her pant legs tucked into them. She was leaning on an old world war one Biplane as she was reaching up with one hand to push her hair out of her very beautiful green eyes. She was tan and it looked good on her. String smiled. That was the Cait that he knew and loved. He thought they couldn't have captured her better. She was sexy and cute at the same time. The caption by the picture read "Loves adventure" If they only knew what kind of adventure, String laughed to himself. Looking at the photo his heart began to ache. He didn't know if he could look at the rest.

The next photo was Cait in coveralls with a smudge of grease strategically placed on her cheek. She was by a helicopter with a wrench in her hand. The coveralls were blue and very tight. You could see every curve. They were unzipped all the way to her navel with nothing on underneath. Not much skin was showing but what you could see was enough to make a man want to see more. String grinned. By the look on her face he could tell she was not happy about the outfit. Her eyes were shifted downward which was something she did when she was embarrassed. He laughed out loud as he envisioned her fighting them every step of the way. He could hear her argue that no real pilot would wear such a thing. The caption read "Not afraid to get her hands dirty".

He licked his thumb and turned the last page. No words could describe Cait in the last photo. It was night. She was on a runway that had the runway lights lit up. Behind her was a lear jet. She was standing in front of the nose. She had on a white long halter dress that was soft and flowing. It had gold threading throughout. They must have had a fan blowing in the background, her dress was lightly swaying. Her arms were extended at her sides with her palms up, she had a long piece of material that was the same as the dress wrapped around her arms like a shawl. It was blowing back toward the jet. Her head was tilted back and her eyes closed. Her lips were slightly parted. String didn't realize he wasn't breathing. Never had Catlin ever looked as beautiful as she did now. She was so beautiful that it brought tears to his eyes. The caption read. "Hauntingly beautiful". No truer words could describe her he thought. The first photo was the Cait he knew and loved. This photo was the Cait he never saw and never gave a chance to love.

String continued to look at the photos for a while longer. It was more like he was punishing himself because the more he looked the more he hurt. He poured another glass of wine and drank it down quickly. It would take a lot more than a few glasses of wine to dull the pain and loneliness he felt.

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A week later Dom was tinkering with a carburetor at the workbench when Hal from the salvage yard came in. "Hey Dom, did you see the latest on Cait?" He had a magazine that was geared toward pilots and flying.

"No Hal, whata ya got there?"

Hal laid it down in front of Dom and turned to an ad. Dom picked it up and headed back to the lockers where String was showering. "Hey String" he called out. "Would ya look at this."

String was just pulling his jeans on when Dom showed him the ad. String smiled. It was a "Got Milk" ad.

It was of Cait sitting in a fighter jets cockpit. She had the trademark milk mustache and was wiping it off with the back of her hand. Dom was beaming.

"She's pretty good at this isn't she?" He said as he headed to the office to hang it up with the rest of the pictures he had in there. Dom was starting a whole board dedicated to her. Her photo shoot had brought her a lot of attention. She wrote Dom telling him about her latest job offer. Lear had liked her pictures so much that they asked her to do an ad for them. She was flying next week to Saudi Arabia. Lear was trying to promote their jets to the Saudis and wanted to feature their country in the ad. They were a bit concerned about using a woman pilot in the ad in this part of the world but one of the top executives was a women. She felt it was time to break some boundaries.

String finished buttoning up his shirt and tied his shoes. "I'm going for some lunch Dom. You want anything?"

"Yeah, sure kid, you know what I like."

String headed out but lunch was not what he was really going for. He pulled in front of the news stand and purchased the magazine Cait was in. Getting back in he hid it under the seat then headed to pick up lunch. Later that night he would carefully place the picture in the album he had started.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: You'll Never Believe Who I Ran Into Today

Cait was sipping an iced tea trying to stay out of the sun during the break from her photo shoot. Saudi Arabia was an exciting country but very hot. Steve, one of the photographers sat down beside her.

"Ok, Cait do I have to start begging you to go out to dinner with me?"

Steve was a nice guy and handsome in a rugged way. He hadn't stopped asking her out since they arrived. It wasn't that she didn't find him desirable; she just didn't feel it was fair to start dating someone when she knew she wasn't ready. She still remembered the look on Dave's face when she told him she was leaving. She didn't want to start something that she was not ready to commit to.

"So Cait what about tonight? You, me and a romantic dinner under the desert stars."

Cait giggled. "Not tonight Steve. I kinda want to walk around the city and take in the sights."

Steve was reluctant to scold her since he didn't know her that well. "Cait I wish you would let me at least go with you. They don't see things here like we do in the U.S. It can be dangerous for a woman by herself."

Cait was appreciative of his concern. "I promise I will be careful and stay alert."

"Well I know there's no talking you out of it. Let's get back to the shoot so we can wrap up before it gets dark."

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Cait took a cool bath and changed into some modest clothes to wear out on her walk. She walked for about an hour when she came across a small shop that sold handmade jewelry. She picked each piece up deciding which one her Mom and sister Erin might like when she was interrupted by a commotion outside the shop.

Two men were fighting or at least one of them was. One was much bigger than the other. The smaller man was being viciously beaten by the other; Cait looked around as the men watched. No one stepped in to stop the attack. Before she thought she was in-between the two men trying to hold back the bigger one. The man she grabbed turned on her. He seemed to be upset that she had dared to lay her hands on him. Soon the attention was off the smaller man. He ran as his attacker turned his anger on her. She didn't need to speak the language to know she was in trouble. Some of the other men were now shoving her pointing fingers in her face. She looked for a way to escape but the group of men were pressing in on her. She tried to reason with them but no one seemed to speak English.

Just as she was about to give up hope she heard a loud gunshot, the men scattered as their attention was on where the shot came from. Panic broke out as they seemed to forget all about her. She was disoriented spinning around trying to decide the way back when she felt a strong hand grab her wrist. She had no idea who the man was. He quickly pulled her through the pandemonium into an empty building. Shoving her into a corner he shut the door and closed the blinds. Cait was just about to thank him when he ran over to her anger apparent on his face.

"What are you, stupid Lady? You don't have enough sense to know not to walk through these streets alone not to mention try and break up a fight between men?"

Cait was getting angry. She could feel the heat in her checks. "Look buster, I don't know who you are but I didn't ask you to help me. Besides no one else was going to stop that poor man for getting beat."

'Why you little…. Someone ought to tan your hide for you. Do you have any idea what those men were going to do to you? That man was getting beat because he stole the other man's wallet."

Cait cast her eyes downward but was still defiant. "No I didn't know because I don't speak Arabic.

"That's right you didn't know. If I hadn't come along you would be in the town square right now being whipped. You think because you're an American that the laws and customs don't apply to you?

Cait opened her mouth to defend herself but knew she couldn't. Whoever this man was he was right and she should be grateful that he came along but he was so damned infuriating. He kind of reminded her of someone she knew.

She started to speak but before she could he was on top of her with his hand over her mouth. "Quiet, they are still looking for you."

Cait did as he said. When the shadows and voices disappeared outside he released her." I think we should stay in here for awhile. As it gets darker the streets will empty out and I can take you back.

Cait sat up beside the man leaning against the wall. He didn't say anything else to her. He just waited and listened to what was being said. Military she thought. She could tell by the way he carried himself. The gun in his belt wasn't military issue, perhaps he was Special Forces.

"My names Catlin, most people call me Cait." She waited for a response and didn't get one. Now she was getting annoyed. "look whatever your name is, I'm sorry that I caused you trouble but that's no reason for you to be rude."

She stood up and headed for the door. "I think its safe enough for me to make my own way back."

Before she reached the door he was on her. In the struggle he pushed her back into the wall pinning her. There was enough light that she could almost make out his face. She should have been afraid but for some reason she trusted him. She tried to step out of his grasp; he effectively blocked her with his body. Holding her more firmly he locked his eyes on her. The next moment he took her lips with his. His kiss was angry but full of passion. Cait tried to break free but found she didn't want to. There was something almost familiar about him that drew her to him. He broke from her lips and studied her face until a headlight from a passing car shone through the blinds. Cait was now able to see the man clearly. Realization came suddenly as she gasp. "It's you"

The man quickly let her go not knowing if she really knew him or not. Taking her by the arm he reverted back to the same gruff man that pulled her in there. "Come on I think it's safe to leave now."

Watching his mannerisms and hearing his voice she was sure of it, he was like someone she knew. She had seen his picture at least a hundred times over the past two years. Jerking her arm from his grip she announced.

"It is you, isn't it" You're St. John Hawke."

St. Johns mind was spinning. How did this woman know him and who was she? He had to think fast. Before Cait could say another word she felt a powerful blow to her chin. Blackness was coming on fast as St. John held her as she went limp in his arms.

Putting her over his shoulder he muttered, "Now what the hell have I gotten myself into."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Things Aren't Always As They Appear

PJF: Hang in there. You are a bigger hopeless romantic than I am.

Cait opened her eyes as her room slowly came into focus. She sat up in bed trying to remember how she got there. She was in the shirt she wore the night before but her shoes and jeans had been removed. It looked like someone had tucked her in. She tried to stand but fell back down. Her head throbbed and her jaw hurt. Images of the night before began to creep back into her memory. She was trying to get away from a group of men, someone had grabbed her taking her to safety. The last thing she remembered was he's the one that hit her. There was something about that man she needed desperately to remember but her brain wasn't cooperating. She was startled by a knock on her door.

"Cait, are you in there" the voice franticly called out. "Cait answer me."

Cait looked at the clock. It was noon. She was supposed to be at the shoot at ten. She moved slowly to the door letting Steve in.

"Cait where the hell have you been, I've been worried sick trying to call your cell phone….."

Steve stopped as he caught a glimpse of the bruise on her face. "Damn it Cait, what happened to you? Are you OK?"

Cait stepped to the mirror. Her chin was bruised. Now she understood why it hurt so badly.

Steve headed to the phone picking it up. "Is this the front desk? I need you to connect me with the local police."

Cait ran to the phone and taking it from him she hung up. "There's no need to call the police. I can't tell them anything because I don't know who it was that did this."

Steve was pacing the floor. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I tried to break up a fight between two men last night and was hit in the process. I'm fine."

"What would make you think you could or should break up a fight?"

Cait didn't have the time or energy to explain that in her former life she was a cop and her reaction was a natural one. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. We had better get to the shoot."

Steve ran his finger over her bruised face. "How are we going to do a shoot with this?"

"Oh I hadn't thought about that."

"Cait I need to tell the client that we will have to postpone for a few days. They may report this to the authorities rather you want to or not. Why don't you lie back down and get some rest. I'll check on you later."

Cait agreed as she saw Steve to her door. She sat on the end of the bed trying to make sense of last night. Something was bothering her. That man, the one that helped her. Why would he risk his life for her and then knock her out cold. She decided to retrace her steps. Maybe that would help.

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As Cait was leaving the lobby she decided to stop by the desk to see if anyone saw her being brought in last night.

"Excuses me. Can you help me?"

"Miss O'Shannessy, I'm glad to see you're OK." The clerk said with a concerned look.

"So you must have been here last night. Did you see who brought me in?"

"Yes I did, he said he worked with you and asked for your key."

"Did he say why he needed to bring me here?"

The clerk was trying to be discreet so no one else could hear. "He said you had a little too much to drink and fell and hit your head. Don't worry, it was late and no one else saw him take you to your room."

Cait looked concerned. The man knew what she was thinking. "To put your mind at ease, the man left only minutes after taking you upstairs."

"Oh, well thank you. I appreciate your help."

Cait turned to leave the hotel determined to retrace her steps hoping it would jar her memory.

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St. John was sitting at his laptop starring at the information he had requested. "Damn, damn, damn" he said as he slammed his hand down on the table. On the screen was a picture of Cait. He had gone through her things getting her name off her passport. Of all the people he could have helped why did it have to be someone that had worked with String and Dom? What were the odds of that happening he thought? If he wanted he could run it through his software to calculate but knowing how astronomical the odds would have been would have infuriated him even more. He wasn't ready to let his superiors know about the situation. Their way of handling it may not be something he could carry out. She didn't seem like the kind of person that would just walk away from what happened. If she knew String well enough she knew finding his brother was important. He needed a plan and he needed it fast. Six years of undercover operations was about to be blown wide open.

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Cait found that as she walked the same path she took last night things were starting to come back to her. She came to the shop she was in when the fight broke out. Turning around she spotted a small abandoned building. It was familiar. She headed over to it. She slowly opened the door and stepped inside. Small flashes of what had taken place flooded her mind. Her eyes widened. "St. John" She said out loud. "It was St. John." Cait found a chair in the room and sat down. This was more than she was able to comprehend. She had to find him again. String needed to know his brother was alive. Before she told him anything she needed to be absolutely sure. He had been given so many false leads in the past. Getting his hopes up to only let him down again was not something she wanted to do. There was only one person she could trust to help her with this. Taking out her phone she dialed Michael's number.

After a long conversation with Michael she needed to get back to the hotel. He was going to send her the most resent picture of St. John that he had. She planned on printing it off then hitting the streets asking if anyone knew him. She would start with this area. He had to be there for a reason when the fight broke out. Michael was going to dig even deeper to see if he was working for any branch of the Military or Special Forces. He agreed that it was best not to let String in on it until they knew something. She had a few days to accomplish what String had spent years doing. She prayed she could pull it off.

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String sat in his fishing boat on the lake. He had been trying to climb out of the blue mood he had found himself in since Cait left. It seemed to get worse instead of better with time. He thought about going to see her when she got back from Saudi Arabia but he didn't know how she would feel about seeing him again. It seemed like she had adjusted to her new life and was happy. He baited his hook and cast the line out into the water. For some reason he had an uneasy feeling that had been nagging him since yesterday. Michael hadn't needed him or Dom to take on any missions for the last several weeks now. So what was it that had his senses on edge? He trusted his instincts, they rarely let him down.

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Cait was back on the streets with the photo of St. John. Michael was still trying to find something out. He doubted he would. All these years the FIRM never did come up with a solid lead. She went back to the street where the abandoned building was. She stood outside looking around. Something bothered her about it. Why did St. John take her in there? Looking at it from the outside you wouldn't know it was abandoned. He must have known that before he took her there. She went in again. She played back every detail in her mind of what had taken place. She found a small oil lamp on the table and lit it. As she did a man knocked on the door.

"Muldoon, you in there?"

Cait rushed to get behind the door. The man carefully opened the door and entered. Seeing the lamp was lit the man looked around spotting Cait.

"Miss, what are you doing here?" he didn't appear to be a threat.

Cait pulled out the picture. "I'm looking for a friend. Can you tell me if you know this man?"

The man took the photo from her. "Well he's older now but that's Mike Muldoon. He rents this place from me. I haven't seen him in weeks."

Cait was excited to have a lead. Now if she could get the man to tell her more. "Do you know where he lives?"

"No, he pays me in cash. Other than that I don't know much about him."

"When does he pay you and how?"

The man was getting nervous over her questions. "He's not in any trouble is he?"

"No, his family has been looking for him for a long time. They really want to find him."

"He meets me here once a month with the cash. I don't ask any questions. He's kind of a loner."

"When is he supposed to meet you next?"

"Today, that's why I thought you were him"

Cait opened her purse. She was about to take a big risk. She didn't know if this man was harmless or not.

How bout I pay his rent so you don't have to stay?" The man looked as if he were thinking it over. Cait thought maybe he needed an incentive. "Let's say I give you twice what the rent is for your trouble. Will you take travelers checks?" The man nodded his head yes.

Cait found a café that was down from the building. She sat by a window so she could see anyone coming and going in that direction. She had been there for about two hours and drank as much coffee as she could stand. Her persistence paid off. She had only seen him briefly that night but it was him. It the light of day she was amazed at how much he looked like String. They even had some of the same mannerisms. No wonder she was confused when he kissed her. She watched him as he entered the building. She wondered how long he would wait for his landlord to show. If he was anything like String he would be impatient and leave after a short period of time. She was right, a half hour later she saw him leave. She had instructed his landlord not to answer his phone if St. John called. She hoped he did as she asked.

Paying for her coffee, she started tailing him. After walking about a half mile she was confident he was unaware he was being followed. She had brought a head scarf to cover her head so she wouldn't stand out as much. A few blocks more he entered what appeared to be a warehouse. Cait waited a few minutes before she approached the building. Going to the back she discovered an open window. She could hear voices inside. Looking in she saw a group of men in the middle of the warehouse. She couldn't hear what they were saying so she decided to climb through the window. She crept closer to the men an hid behind the large metal shelves that were stacked with boxes. St. John was talking with a group of Middle Eastern men.

"Do you have the weapons or not Muldoon? I have been patient with you long enough."

St. John didn't appear to be threatened by the man. "I told you my sources wanted to make sure you were who you said you were, and more to the point had the means to fund the deal."

Cait almost gasp out loud. St. John was an arms dealer. That would explain why he didn't want to be found.

The man was now in St. Johns face pointing a finger in his chest. "I am becoming impatient with you and your associates."

St. John took hold of the man's forearm firmly. "And what if you are? I told you before; if you want weapons from me it would be on my terms not yours."

The man jerked away. "You have three days to deliver what you promised. After that I will find another supplier."

"I can do that." St. John said as he held out his hand to seal the deal with a hand shake. Before he could there was a commotion on the other side of the warehouse. One of the terrorist was dragging Cait toward the group of men.

"I found her hiding over there." He pointed as he threw her to the floor in front of his leader.

The man reached down taking her by the arm jerking her up. "Who are you?" He said as he pulled the scarf from her head.

St. John had to keep his emotions in check. Any reaction from him would get them both killed. He had no idea what Cait would say so he spoke up before she could.

"She's with me." St. John said as he slapped her across the face. "I told you to stay put."

Cait was not expecting the slap or his explanation. Something told her not to say anything.

The man pulled her to him studying the bruise on her chin. Looking to St. John he said. "Is this you're doing?"

St. John pulled Cait out of his grasp and into his own effectively establishing who she belonged to and that he had control over the situation. "That's none of your business." He bit back.

"It is when she has knowledge of our operations." The man motioned for his men to take her. "She stays with us until we receive our weapons."

St. John's heart was beating faster but he still kept his cool. "No deal."

The man raised his gun to her head. "I did not say you have a choice here. Either you leave here without her or neither of you leave alive."

"I guess I have no choice then." St. John took her by the arm leading her away from the men so he could talk to her. The men did not object.

Cait flinched as he reached up to lightly touch the bruise he had caused. "I'm sorry I had to hit you twice. Under different circumstances I would never treat a woman this way. Especially one that cares this much for my brother."

Cait was stunned that he was now admitting to her who he was. "At least I care for him which is more than I can say for you."

"Cait we don't have the time to get into this. You need to listen to me and do as I ask. I work undercover with special ops. I've been trying to infiltrate this terrorist cell for two years. I need you to hang in there until I get them to take possession of the shipment. Don't tell them anything. The less communication you have with them the better. Can you do that for me?"

Cait wanted to tell him that she was no novice at this. He must not have done a _thorough _enough search on her or he would know she worked for the FIRM. She didn't know who he worked for and thought she should keep it to herself. Too many government agencies want to get their hands on Airwolf. His could be one of them.

Cait nodded yes. "I'll be fine." She said as she looked away from him.

St. John couldn't help but smile. He was attracted to her, something he had not allowed himself to do with a woman in six years. He took her face in his hands making her look at him, Cait they won't touch you. They are very devout in their beliefs. But make no mistake they will hurt or kill you if you give them a reason."

"I understand. Really, I can handle this."

With that St. John pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips. "I'll get you out of this, I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Blood Isn't Always Thicker Than Water

String and Dom stood in Michael's office waiting on him to say why he summoned them. It couldn't be good news the way Michael was stalling.

"Michael why don't you just say what's on your mind so Dom and I can be on our way."

Michael set the bourbon down that he had been nursing sine they arrived. "It's about Cait."

String felt the blood leave his head. He didn't want Michael to say another word but he had to know. "Just tell us if she's alive." String asked afraid to hear the answer.

"Yes as far as we know."

Dom cut in. "What do you mean as far as you know."

"I received word today that Cait is missing. She left her hotel yesterday afternoon and never returned."

The room was spinning. String couldn't comprehend the words he had just heard. His heart refused to accept them. Michael continued to tell them the details that he knew.

"The photographer that she works with said he went to her room at noon when she had failed to show up for the shoot. She had a bruised chin. She told him that she was trying to break up a fight between two men and was hit in the process. When he left her she was going to lie down and get some rest. That was the last time he saw her."

Michael poured another bourbon. String picked up on it immediately. "What is it you're not telling us Michael?"

He took a long drink before answering. "Cait called me before she went missing. She wanted my help. She did try to help a man that was being beaten by another man. In doing so she offended the man she was trying to stop. It caused a group of men to turn on her. She was able to escape with the help of an American that pulled her to safety."

String was getting impatient. "Then we need to talk with that man. Maybe he knows where she is."

"That may be easier said than done. String, Cait recognized the man that helped her." Michael braced himself for Strings reaction. "She said it was St. John."

String was standing; he felt his legs give out from under him as he fell back into a chair. Dom sat with his mouth open not knowing what to say.

Michael continued to tell them the rest of what he knew. "She said that he took her to a place to hide until the crowd dispersed. That's when she recognized him. When she confronted him he…"

String looked up. "He what Michael?"

"He hit her knocking her out cold. She woke up in her bed the next morning. I sent her a picture of him. She was going to go back to where she saw him and ask if anyone knew him. That's the last I heard from her."

The anger started to build inside him. "Why the hell didn't you let Dom and me know?"

"Because Cait didn't want to tell you anything until she was sure it was St. John. And we still don't know for sure if it was."

String sat for a few minutes with his face in his hands.

"String, I'm sorry. I didn't want to jeopardize the possibility of you finding St. John."

Taking his face from his hands he looked up not believing what Michael had just said to him. "Do you honestly think that I would take getting my brother back over Cait's safety or her life?"

Michael looked as sorry as he felt "No, I know what she means to you. I should have instructed her to leave it for the FIRM to investigate."

Dom stood up. "This isn't getting us anywhere. And let's face it Michael. You know our girl, if she thought she found Sinj then no amount of instructions would have done you any good. She would have looked for him anyway."

String stood up quickly. "Michael Send me all the information you have and get me clearance at the closest Military base in Saudi Arabia." String said as he walked toward the office door. Dom right behind him.

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String was quiet as they flew to find Cait. Dom knew this had to be tearing him up inside. This is not how he expected String and St. John to reunite but worse than that Cait was missing. They didn't even know if she was alive.

String was silently trying to work out everything he had just learned in his head. He thought he knew Sinj, the brother he loved would never hit a woman. All these years he wanted to find him but that was not what was on his mind now. He couldn't stop thinking of Cait. Something happened when Michael said she was missing. The pain he had been feeling the past few weeks over losing a friend that he loved was different then what he was feeling now. He realized it was pain from losing someone he was in love with. He was in love with her and probably had been for a long time. His only hope was that Sinj had her. Michael had hinted several times that he thought it was possible St. John could be working for a covert operation. That would explain why they never found a solid lead or body.

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The two men walked up to the desk at the hotel. Michael had arranged for them to be at the same one Cait was in. They landed the Lady at the closest U.S. military base where she would be safe. They wasted no time dumping their things and heading for Cait's room. String took out the key card they had convinced the desk clerk to give them. It was small with only two rooms. Dom went into the bath as String went through the dresser drawers where her things were. Nothing seemed out of place. Sting pulled her luggage onto the bed to go through it. He hoped maybe she left some kind of a clue as to what she had found out. Feeling in one of the zippered pockets he pulled out an envelope thinking he may have found something. It was a picture of Him and Dom on one of the sets at the studio. He turned it over; on the back she had written "My Guys".

"What's that?" Dom said as he took the picture from String. Dom smiled. "I remember that day. I looked up and Cait was taking our picture."

String abruptly stood up putting Cait's things back the way he found them. "I think we should start with the desk clerk that was on duty when Cait was brought in."

"Good thinkin kid, I'm right behind you."

String was holding a picture of St. John in front of the clerk that was there that night.

"Yes I am sure that's the man that carried Miss O'Shannessy to her room. Like I told the authorities earlier, he said he worked with her and that she had too much to drink. I had no reason to doubt him."

String thanked the man as they headed out to the location Cait gave Michael when she called asking for his help. Knowing Cait the way they did she would have thought like the ex-cop she was and staked the area out hoping St. John would have shown up. The location and picture of Sinj was all they had to go on.

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The room was cold at night and hot during the day. Cait figured she had been there for about a day and a half. There were no windows so she lost all sense of time. She remembered what the terrorist had told St. John, he had three days to deliver the weapons. She allowed herself to think about his kiss. That was the second time he had kissed her. She wondered if he did it to give the terrorist the impression they were together but then she thought the first kiss was when they were alone. She wasn't so much concerned as to why he kissed her she wanted to know why she felt something when he did. This was a man she had never met but felt safe with. She reasoned it was because he was so much like String. He had kissed her before but not in the way St. John had. Her heart ached for String. She wished things would have ended differently. If only she had kept her feelings to herself she would be at Santini Air flying Airwolf missions and still friends with String. She was startled by the sound of the door being unlocked. A man appeared with her meal and a bottle of water. The food was nothing more than fatir a flatbread that they had been giving her three times a day. She gladly took it. It wasn't much but it kept her going. St. John was right, they did not touch her and as long as she did as they said they left her alone. She hoped and prayed that he would return to get her out of there as he had promised.

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St. John walked towards the small building he rented. He needed the laptop he had hidden in the wall. It was his only way to communicate with the special ops group he worked with. They needed to know the deal was going down tomorrow ahead of schedule. What he wasn't going to tell them was why. There was no reason to bring Cait into this if he didn't need to. For now he had to make this happen and get her out of there. How he was going to explain it he didn't know.

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String and Dom took the same path Cait had leading them to the intersection of the two streets Michael gave them. String stood still looking around. In his mind he played out what Cait had told Michael." She was here probably trying to fight her way out, Sinj grabbed her." String turned and spotted the nearest building he could see and pointed. "That must be it Dom." Both men took off toward it.

Inside they found the same oil lamp and lit it looking around. There was not much to the room. To String it looked familiar. He also had run missions. This looked like somewhere Sinj would come when he wanted to contact someone or be contacted. Dom took the stairs to check out the upstairs. String was feeling along the walls knowing there had to be communication equipment somewhere. He suddenly sensed he was not alone. Turning around he can face to face with the nose of a gun.

"Turn around and face the wall." The man said pushing him toward the wall. String did as he was told. The lamp offered very little light. He couldn't see the man that was holding him at gun point.

The next voice String heard was Dom's. "Ok buddy, I suggest you drop your gun because this ain't no toy I have poked in your back.

St. John recognized the voice of the man that had raised him when his parents died. It was a voice he hadn't heard in years but he would know it anywhere. If this was Dom then he was pointing his gun at String.

"Dom, it's me Sinj. St. John said as he lowered his gun slowly.

String spun around. He tried to make out the face that was before him. A face that he had etched in his mind for the past six years. Neither man said a word as they searched each other's eyes waiting on the other to speak first. St. John made the first move reaching in pulling his brother to him


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: The Hawke Brothers Together Again

The three men stood embracing each other. String held on to Sinj afraid that if he let go he may never see him again. Finally breaking away from him the question was on his mind and then off his lips. "Sinj, where the hell have you been?"

St. John was not prepared to answer what was more of a complex question then either man knew. "String, I'll explain later. I take it you're here to find your friend Catlin?"

The question brought Dom and String back to reality. "Do you know where she is?" Dom asked looking hopeful.

"Right now Dom I need to make contact with someone that works with me, and then we can talk."

Strings smile turned angry. "You mean another operative don't you?"

St. John was uncomfortable. "Yeah, it's another operative. I told you I will explain. Right now Caitlin is running out of time."

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Two hours later in their hotel room the three of them sat silent. String was up looking out the window. It was hard to comprehend. St. John chose this life over him. He didn't have the time to process it or ask why.

"So you helping Cait was just a coincidence?" String asked without turning around.

"String I swear, I had no idea who Cait was before this. I've heard rumors over the past two years that you had commandeered a highly sophisticated helicopter that you were the test pilot for. I heard that you were the best out there and the only one that could fly her."

String spun around. "Is that all you heard?" He asked in an accusatory tune.

St. John knew he had to come clean or String would know. He needed String to trust him if they were to rescue Cait. "No I knew more. I know that you and Dom have been working for the FIRM." He stood then went to the window that String had been standing at. "I also knew you were looking for me."

Strings anger boiled over as he headed for the door. If he didn't leave the room one of them would wind up hurt. St. John started to go after him. Dom grabbed his arm.

"Leave him be Sinj, you know him as well as I do. Let him cool down. He knows we need to get Cait. He won't take long."

String headed out into the street. Spotting an alley way beside the hotel he walked to it punching the first thing he saw, a sign saying No Parking. His hand took in more damage than the sign did. Nursing his hand he decided he couldn't afford an injury if they were going to help Cait. He ran his fingers through his hair and leaned against the wall. Nothing Sinj could ever say to him would take his hurt away. His anger he could deal with, his hurt was there for the long haul.

String paced the room as he was updating Michael by phone. St. John was on his laptop putting together the last details of the deal that was to go down tomorrow night. He had removed everything from the building that he called "home base" for the last year. It had now been compromised and would be of no use to him. Dom was on the phone to the military base where they had left Airwolf letting them know she would need to be fueled up when they arrived. When they all finished they filled each other in on what they had found out.

Dom started first. "The lady is still secured and they will have her fueled up."

St. John laughed to himself. He had been noticing that Dom thought of Airwolf as a live person. That was so much like Dom.

St. John shut his laptop. "There's no turning back now. We meet them tomorrow at eight o'clock pm. They think the weapons will be delivered by truck. I told them I would have the truck there after I verify they have the money. That should give us at least twenty minutes to stall before they get suspicious that the weapons aren't coming." Looking at String, "Do we have ground cover from the FIRM?"

"Michael has a small group of men that will be in place when we arrive. They need to get in and out as soon as possible. He doesn't want an international incident."

Dom stood up ready for a fight. "I don't give a rat's ass about an international incident. This is Cait we're talkin about…."

String was to him before he could finish his sentence placing his hands on his shoulders. "Dom, Michael is doing all he can. You know as well as I do that he is just as worried about Cait as we are. Nothing is as important then bringing her home safe but he does have others he has to answer to."

Dom calmed down. "I know kid, I just want this over with and Cait back home where she belongs."

St. John didn't feel he had a right to comfort either one of them considering his betrayal of the both of them. He wanted to tell his brother that she would be ok. He was beginning to see that there was more to his feelings for her than just friends. He could understand why. He had only briefly known her and had begun to fall for her. "Let's say we all get some sleep."

String picked up his things and headed for the door. Dom asked him where he was going.

"I prefer to sleep in Cait's room tonight. I need to clear my head."

Dom looked to Sinj. He knew there was more to it than that. String needed the comfort that being close to her things would bring.

String was lying in bed unable to sleep. Now that there was no planning to do there was nothing to stop the thoughts in his head. He didn't want to think of what she was going through. St. John had assured him they would not sexually assault her. String knew that was true but he had been deployed in the Middle East as well and fought against the terrorist there. They would not hesitate to hurt her if she tried to escape or failed to cooperate. Both things he knew she would do if the opportunity would present its self. He was startled by a knock on the door. Opening it he found St. John standing there. String motioned him in.

"I wasn't sure if you would let me in or not."

String plopped back down on the bed lying back on the pillows. "I don't want to talk about it right now Sinj."

"I know, that's not why I'm here."

String looked disinterested.

"You're in love with her? St. John waited for an answer.

String sprang up grabbing a bottle of water that was nearby. "Let's just stick to the details of the mission."

Sinj didn't take the hint or he was ignoring it. "String I may have been absent from your life for six years but that doesn't mean I don't know you. Dom tells me she is in love with you. That would explain why she responded to my kiss the way she did."

String gave him a sharp look but kept his emotions in check. Sinj Smiling to himself thought he got the reaction he wanted from his younger brother. Now he had his attention.

Strings first instinct was to punch him but he refrained. "What the hell do you mean you kissed her?"

"When I pulled her into the building to hide from the crowd I wasn't actually nice to her. She got pissed at me and started to leave."

"And" String said glaring at his brother.

"And I grabbed her to prevent her from leaving. I don't know why but I wanted to kiss her so I did. In case you haven't noticed she is very desirable." Sinj was hoping that last line would provoke him even more.

"That doesn't explain what you meant when you said she responded to your kiss." String was getting upset with himself. It was not like him to reveal this much of his emotions. He hated that Sinj was able to penetrate his steel exterior. Sinj had only been reunited with him for a day and had already discovered his weakness.

"Well let's just say she didn't fight me on it."

String was up and across the room. St. John was not able to duck fast enough as Strings fist made contact with his chin. "That's for Cait." He said as he gathered his things and went back to his room.

Sinj slowly rose to his feet feeling his chin as he grinned. "Yep, he's in love with her alright."

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St. John stood in awe as he ran his hand down Airwolf. Turning to face String and Dom. "You lucky bastards." String didn't respond. He had nothing to say to his brother unless it pertained to the mission.

They loaded what gear they thought they would need and proceeded to do a flight check. The base had kept the high powered flying weapon out of sight as best they could. A few pilots were standing around the hangar hoping to get a chance to see her up close. Dom took on the task of keeping them away.

It was 7:30pm, time to head out. The three men took their place inside Airwolf. String and Dom proceeded as if they had done this a thousand times. St. John had not flown for awhile, he felt out of place with nothing to do as String and Dom started the complicated bird. Getting the go ahead String abruptly lifted off the tarmac. Before St. John could brace himself he was pinned against the seat as String called for turbo's. He looked down to see that they were flying at mach speed 30 feet above the ground. He had heard of Strings almost supernatural flying abilities but no amount of hearsay could prepare him for the real thing. His brother was unmatchable he thought. He couldn't have been prouder of him.

They were hovering high above the compound that they had moved their operations to. String called for Dom to do a visual and audio scan. Hoping they could locate Cait by process of elimination.

"String the bigger building to the right is the only one that's occupied. The two smaller buildings are stocked with weapons."

"Can you break down the occupants by rooms Dom?"

"I'm doing that now String."

The men hovered for a few minutes before Dom had some useful information.

"There are fourteen men, all armed. Eight of them are in the inner building. Looks like it's a warehouse of some sort. Two men are by the front entrance two by the back the last two are in the far south corner of the building. She can't be here String. Every person down there is armed."

St. John spoke up. "Dom look for a solid image, it should be close to the two men by the south corner."

"Checking now, hey wait a minute there is a solid block down there. It looks like it could be a room that is heavily fortified. She could be there and I can't pick up a heat source or…" Dom stopped himself. String didn't ask him to finish, he thought the same thing, or she could be dead.

Sinj knowing what they were thinking spoke up. "She's in there, if not why would they have two men guarding it?"

String felt his gut unclench. Sinj was right. That had to be where they were keeping her.

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Cait was sitting on the cot with her knees drawn up to her chest. When they brought her food this evening one of the guards had said this could be her last meal if her lover didn't show up with the weapons. She smiled at the thought. She knew String for almost two years and the most she ever got from him was a friendly peck on the check or quick innocent kiss on the lips. She was with St. John all of two times and his kiss was passionate enough to convince them that she was his lover. The irony of it all she thought. She wondered about her family. The people she was working with from Lear had to have notified them. After all they had no way of knowing why she disappeared or who had her. She worried more about her mom's suffering than her own. She hoped that by now Michael was involved which meant that String and Dom would bring the lady. The only thing she could do was wait for St. John.

It was five minutes until eight. Dom had let String and Sinj off a mile from the compound. They stood about ten feet away ducking behind a jeep. Sinj turned to String. "I'm going in now. I'll tell them my men are a mile from here with the truck waiting on my signal. Remember try to find her within twenty minutes. If they get antsy and make a move I will signal you with two shots."

"I'm clear. Dom will keep audio on. If we run into trouble he can come in and also notify Michael's ground troops." Sinj got up to leave as String pulled him back down. "Don't disappear or die on me this time."

Sinj tried to make light of what was just said but knew String meant it. Putting his hand on the back of his neck he pulled him close. "I'll see you back at the lady." With that String watched him approach the compound.

Sinj was stopped by the guard at the entrance. "Muldoon here," The man opened the door and let him in.

Dom radioed String. "The two guards at the back door just joined the other men with St. John."

String didn't question their good fortune; he took off for the back entrance. Crouching down he spotted the two guards that were guarding Cait. It was an inner building that was ten by twelve feet. It was incased by metal that was about a foot thick. The door had a big metal latch on the outside. Some more good fortune, it didn't require a key to open. String crawled closer to the room. He could now hear Sinj talking with the terrorist leader.

"Yeah, it looks like the money is all here. I'll have my men drive the truck in." Sinj took out his cell phone. The men aimed their weapons on him. "Hey, let's all remain calm. I just need to radio the truck. Once they are here I leave with the money and the girl."

The men motioned for him to make the call. String watched as one of the guards took a seat in a chair that was facing where St. John and the men were. The other was leaning against the wall. String decided to take out the one by the wall first. His Arabic was rusty but he knew enough to perhaps call the man away from his post. Ducking behind shelves stacked with boxes he spoke loud enough for the man to hear him asking for help with a box on the shelf. The man headed down the aisle; as soon as he saw no one was there he turned to report what had just happened. He was met with a hard kick to his face as he fell to the ground. String quickly pulled him behind the shelves and waited for the other to investigate. The other guard calling out did not get a response; he made the same mistake as the first and was met with the same fate. Seeing no one else was around he undid the latch. It was dark inside. The only light came through the small air vent in the ceiling. His heart sank when he saw the room was empty. Hearing a noise behind him he turned around as someone tried to run out of the room. He made it to the door first. Catching sight of her green eyes he grabbed her around the waist. She was fighting as hard as she could which wasn't much. She was weak and not able to break from his hold. He held her tight and whispered in her ear.

"Cait, I've got you, you're ok." She instantly fell limp in his arms. He held her for as long as he dared to knowing they needed to get out of there.

Cait was trembling. She buried her face in his chest and breathed in his scent. She was finally able to speak. "I hoped you and Dom would come for me."

He kissed the top of her head. "Always" He said

String heard the sound of voices getting louder. "We need to get out of here Cait." He pulled Cait toward the door. Cait hesitated as she placed her hands on his arms stopping him.

"Wait. I need to tell you something." She feared that one or both of them would get killed before she had a chance to tell him she found St. John. Taking his chin she turned his head so he was looking at her. "String, St. John is alive. I talked to him."

They were interrupted by the sound of one of the guards looking for the absent guards. String placed his finger over her lips motioning for silence. He watched as the guard gave up the search and returned to the other men. He heard Sinj tell the terrorist in Arabic that the truck was there. Seeing the way out was clear he took her by the wrist and led her out the back door. Once out he heard Airwolf as Dom descended down. At the same time all hell had broken lose. The truck wasn't carrying weapons but the small group of men that Michael had sent to back them up. String could hear gun fire as he was making sure Cait was safe inside Airwolf. He tried to close the door but was stopped as Cait tried to get out.

"String where are you going?"

"Get back in, Dom cover me." He said as he forced her back inside. Dom lifted off.

St. John was pinned down behind a clutter of discarded metal barrels unaware that one of the terrorist was approaching him from behind. Turning as the man was on him he heard a gunshot. The man fell face first into him as his lifeless body slide down to his feet. Looking up from the man was String holding his gun with two hands. "Let's go, Dom has Cait."

St. John followed his brother as String was radioing for Dom to land. He had been keeping the terrorist busy as they were trying to fire on Airwolf the ground troops were able to easily take them.

Cait couldn't believe what she saw. String and St. John together. St. John had kept his word and had come back for her. Both men climbed in. St. John took his seat in front with String. Turning around he winked at her. "I told you I'd be back for you." He carefully looked for Strings reaction. Even with his helmet on he could see that String was clinching his jaw. Something he did when he was angry.

String lifted off without saying anything except "Turbos Dom."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: The Choice

Cait slowly opened her eyes. She was alone in the room. Looking down at her arm she could see the IV drip was still there. When they arrived back at the military base the men over ruled her when she objected to being checked out at the base hospital. After they determined she was dehydrated and exhausted they decided to keep her overnight. Before she allowed herself the luxury of a shower and sleep she had insisted they contact her family and Steve the photographer she was working with. She did not want them to worry any longer than they had to. She talked with her Mom briefly reassuring her she was really alright. The explanation given everyone was that she was targeted because she was an American and was returned unharmed because her kidnappers were afraid to go through with it.

A nurse with a cheery disposition came into her room with a breakfast tray. "Honey, I need you to eat something. Can't let you go until you do." She said as she sat it down and arranged it in front of her. She then proceeded to check her vital signs and IV.

Cait crinkled her nose up at the food. She didn't feel like eating even though she hadn't had much to eat the past few days. She was too worried about String and St. John. As weak as she was when they brought her in she could see the tension between the two. They were all fussing over her but String was very quiet more than usual. She wasn't sure but he seemed annoyed at the attention St. John was paying her. Before the doctor kicked them all out St. John managed to plant a kiss on her lips that lasted longer than it should between two people that just met. Dom seemed concerned over their behavior as well. She wondered what explanation St. John would offer for his absence and whether String would accept it and move on. Deciding that the pasty looking oatmeal was not worth the effort to eat she drifted back to sleep.

Startled by loud voices outside her door Cait woke up again. She was facing the clock on the wall. It was 1:00pm. She didn't know how tired she was. Moving from her side to her back she realized she was not alone. Her heart skipped a beat.

"You need to eat something." String said as he pointed to the tray of breakfast food still sitting there. He was nervous. Other than when they recued her he had not spoken to her since New Year's Eve when she told him she loved him.

Cait's cheeks blushed a bit. "Yeah I know. I was too tired to eat." They were interrupted by an older nurse bringing in her lunch tray. She sat it down so she could remove the untouched breakfast one.

"I'm not happy about this young lady." She scolded Cait as she sat the new tray in front of her. Turning to String for support. "Make sure she eats this or we will keep her here until she does."

String replied "Yes ma'am." He was trying to hide his laugh. He went to her side picking up the fork he speared a mouthful of the noodle casserole and put it to her mouth. "Here eat this, I'm afraid of that woman."

Cait grinned taking the fork from him inspecting the substance that was on it. She laid the fork down and decided on the Jell-O instead.

There was an awkward silence between them that they had never experienced before in their relationship. String started to speak up when he heard Dom enter the room holding a big bag of gummy bears, red her favorite ones.

"How's my favorite girl today." He took her in for a big hug.

Cait held on tight to Dom. She had missed him. When she let him go he handed her the bag of gummies. Cait was just about to open them and take out a big handful when the nurse walked back in. When she spotted the gummies in her lap she snatched them up glaring at Dom. "The patient hasn't even eaten her lunch. I'll hold on to these until she does."

Cait and String laughed at the expression on his face. "Gesh, is this a hospital or a prison?" Dom yelled loud enough for her to hear as she left.

Dom looked to String. "Where's Sinj, he said he was comin to see Cait."

String's face went from a laugh to annoyed. "He said he had to meet with his superiors this morning. He was going to brief them on his mission.

Cait looked down. She had the feeling she had blown St. Johns cover and jeopardized his position as an operative. "I hope I didn't cause him too much trouble."

"You didn't cause me any trouble, unless blowing a year's worth of undercover work is trouble." St. John came in with a big bouquet of white roses and sat them on her night table beside the bed. The nurse was right behind him.

"And what did you sneak in young man?'" Sinj looked to Dom and String as if he had no idea what was going on.

Shrugging his shoulders he replied. "Flowers?"

"Ok then, I'll leave you all alone." As she left she looked at the tray of food and then to Cait. Cait looked like a scared school girl. She picked up the fork and began to eat.

"What the hell was that all about?" St. John asked.

"Ah she thinks she's a warden or something." Dom replied. He caught the look on Strings face. It dawned on him that String and Cait had not spoken since she left. "Hey Sinj, let's say you and me go for a bad cup of joe."

"Sure Dom." St. John reached down and kissed Cait yet again. "I'll see you before I leave." He said as he tapped her nose.

String waited until the men were out of the room. "Is there something going on between you and Sinj?" He winced as he said it. Before he even finished the question he wished he hadn't asked. Cait had an utter look of shock on her face.

"What would make you think that?" She replied looking as if she had just been slapped by the question.

"I'm sorry Cait. I had no right to ask that." Feeling extremely uncomfortable and not knowing how to recover from the situation String rose to leave. "I guess I should go, I'll check in on you tomorrow."

Cait watched as he left not knowing what to say to him. She had no idea where his head was at. She thought he had to be feeling betrayed yet again by St. John, first he finds out he was alive and stayed away by choice and now that he was back he seemed to be more interested in her then reuniting with String. She knew him well enough to know he needed space to figure out his feelings.

An hour later Cait heard a knock on her door. She looked up to see St. John. "Care for some company?"

Cait nodded yes. "Where's Dom?"

"He went back to the hotel with String. I think they are going to get some dinner and sleep."

St. John pulled a chair up to her bed. "How are you doing?"

Cait sensed asking about her health was not the reason he was there. "It's not going to work you know."

"What's not going to work?"

"String will never fall for me no matter how much you try and make him jealous."

Sinj let out a loud laugh, he really liked this woman. She could see right through him. "Ok. I'll bite. Suppose you tell me all about it."

Cait adjusted herself so she sat up higher in the bed. This is going to be good St. John thought. Let's see how good she is at reading people.

"I think you had no idea or even thought about how you being gone had affected String until these past few days. You saw how guarded and lonely he is and thought if he had someone to be with, someone that loved him you could run off into the sunset again and not have to worry that you were the cause of his loneliness and hurt."

St. John wasn't feeling so smug now. He didn't expect Cait to really read him as accurately as she did. She was so dead on that if felt like she had peeled back every layer of his skin and exposed him. "Go on." He said softly.

Cait could see he was not the same confident somewhat egotistical man that had first walked in moments ago. "I'm sorry, I went too far. I didn't mean to hurt you."

St. John stood up. Cait thought he was going to leave. She hoped he would at least say goodbye to String.

"Maybe I do feel guilty and would feel better knowing he had someone in his life to take care of him. My plans weren't just all about me you know. I hope you believe that. Once I discovered he was in love with you I figured he needed a push. You're good for him Cait; I didn't need to be around the past six years to see that."

St. John walked back to her bed taking her hand in his. "I know I'm a selfish bastard for the choices I made but don't think I don't love my brother because I do."

Cait rubbed the back of his hand. Her gentle touch was soothing. "St. John, I believe you do love him but I'm not the one you need to be telling this to."

Sinj took her hand back in his. "I know. I plan on talking to him before I leave."

Cait frowned. "So you are going back to the spy world?"

"I can't change who I am any more than String can. This is who I am Cait. I'm not going to apologize for what I've done. It won't change anything that has happened. But, if I had a woman like you to come home to at night I might be tempted to give it all up."

Cait smacked his arm. "You know you're brother really knows how to charm the women as well."

Sinj turned serious. "So why hasn't he charmed you?"

She took a breath before answering. "I went to his cabin on New year's Eve. I had decided I was going to lay it all out and tell him how I feel. Turns out he didn't feel the same. String loves me but I'm not the woman of his dreams."

'Is that why you ran away?"

"I didn't run away. I decided to start a new life. What was I supposed to do after I made a fool out of myself telling him I loved him and all. Stay around another two years waiting for him to change his mind about me?"

"You walked out on him the same as I did."

"No Sinj, the difference is you belonged there and I didn't."

St. John got up to leave. "I would like to think my brother ends up with you. That would make me happy." He reached down to kiss her one last time. "You know everything I did wasn't all just to make String jealous. If things were different I would want you for myself."

As he reached the door he turned around. "Take care of yourself Cait."

"Be safe." She replied.

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Cait was in her hotel room packing her clothes. Someone was knocking on the door.

"It's open Steve, come on in." Looking up she was surprised to see it was String. "String, I thought you said your goodbyes yesterday."

String looked at her suite case's that were ready to go. "Do you really think it's a good idea to finish this shoot after all you've been through?'

Cait Laughed. "Is that what you came to tell me? I have a job to do and commitments you know."

String couldn't hold back much longer. As she passed in front of him to gather more clothes he gently took her hand. He held it for a moment as Cait stood still afraid to move not knowing where he was going with this.

"Cait, I need to tell you something. I've been doing a lot of thinking since you left…."

Knowing where he was going with this she put her hand to his mouth. "Don't String, it's best we leave things the way they are." Now she was the one that was going to hurt him. She took no pleasure in it. She looked in his eyes and saw the deep hurt her actions were causing. She now knew how he must have felt that night at the cabin.

String dropped her hand. His heart ached at her rejection. It took everything he had to finally admit he loved her and she rejected him. Now he knew how she felt when he had failed to return her love.

"Is it because of St. John?" He didn't really want to hear the answer but had to know. Cait took his hand leading him to sit on the bed where she joined him.

"String, I never have and never will love a man the way I love you. St. John has nothing to do with my decision. You and I are in a different place now. If I came back I would never know if you really loved me or just talked yourself into it because you felt bad over what has happened. I could never live with not knowing the truth."

There was another knock on the door as Steve peeked in. "You ready Cait, we need to get to our next destination for the shoot."

Cait waited for String to speak. She wanted to give him the last word. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips then walking to the door he turned to look at her one last time. "Have a good life Cait, you deserve it."

She sat on the bed fighting back the tears. Steve stopped gathering up her bags when he noticed that something was wrong. "You ok Cait?"

Wiping the tears from her eyes she picked up the last suite case. "Yelp, everything is fine. Let's get back to work."

ALMOST THE END


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: Home Again

This chapter is dedicated to PJF

Dom was relaxing on the couch in front of the fireplace as String was fixing them dinner. It had been three weeks since they returned home from Saudi Arabia without Cait. Dom decided to spend time with String since he had been making himself scarce the last few weeks. He never did ask him what transpired between him and Cait. Whatever it was couldn't have been good judging from his moods lately. He figured that when he was ready he would talk. He picked up the magazine lying on the coffee table.

"Cait's ad for Lear came out good considering what she went through over there."

String didn't respond to his comment. Dom had tried to talk about her several times only to have String shrug his shoulders. He knew his mood wasn't just about her. He had refused to talk about Sinj as well. It was typical String, ignore it and it will go away. He knew that Sinj did talk to him before he disappeared again, like with Cait he had no clue what was said between them.

"Dinners ready Dom." String said as he sat the final serving bowl of food on the table and poured them each a glass of wine.

"Looks good kid." Dom dug into the food thinking of what to say next. These one sided conversations where wearing on him.

Dom took a sip of his wine and sat the glass down forcefully almost spilling it. "Damn it String, how much longer are you going to go on this way? Life does go on whether you decide to participate or not."

String was now angrily cutting into his food. He was glad to see Dom but wasn't ready to open up. Dom didn't deter, he held his stare on him. String gave in dropping his fork on his plate in a show of surrender.

"Let's get this over with Dom. I know you're not going to let up until I talk about it."

"String I can't help you if you shut me out like this."

String took a gulp of wine. "Maybe I don't want your help." He went back to eating in silence. Dom gave him his space. It didn't take long, String laid his fork down again.

"I tried to tell her I loved her and she stopped me."

Now Dom understood why he was so withdrawn. Sinj had walked out of his life yet once again and Cait had rejected him. "Did you ask her why?"

He played with his wine glass rolling the stem through his fingers. "She said she would never know if I was really in love with her or not. She thinks I feel guilty for rejecting her and only convinced myself that I have feelings for her."

"Well, do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you feel guilty or do you really love her?"

String swirled the wine in his glass staring at it. "Yeah, I love her. The sad part is Dom I think I always have."

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String sat in the Santini jeep waiting for the director to call him over to perform the stunt. Dom was walking nervously around the jeep.

"Dom, will you stop pacing? You're making me jumpy."

"I can't help it String, I just don't like the set up here. We've never worked with this stunt crew before." Dom didn't like how nonchalant String was being about the safety checks. It was not like him to take the word of the stunt crews. Normally he would check everything himself until he was satisfied. He had asked String if he checked the cables that would be holding the net String was to fall into fifty feet from the ground. He was to land a helicopter on the roof of the building that was about to explode, he would run off the roof before the explosion into the net below.

"They know what they're doing Dom. It's what they get paid for."

"Yeah, well you're not replaceable so do me a favor and go check will ya?"

String got out of the jeep. He knew Dom wouldn't be happy until he checked the cables himself. As he headed over the director announced he was ready for the stunt. String turned looking at Dom and shrugged his shoulders. He headed back to the chopper and got in.

Dom watched as String expertly landed the helicopter on the small roof at a high rate of speed. "Beautiful" the director was shouting. String ran toward the edge of the roof and jumped into the net below. The net was on the other side of the building. Dom was tense waiting for the crew on the other side to signal that it was a take. The signal never came as Dom saw the crew running to where String had jumped. His heart was in his throat. As he rounded the corner he had to push his way through the crowd. This wasn't good. There was no net above and everyone was looking down at the ground.

"String" He shouted over and over. Things were moving in slow motion for him. He had flashes in his mind of String when he was a little boy and the good times they had shared.

"Please God, please let my boy be ok." He said as he pulled everyone out of his way. He finally broke through the last barrier of people that separated him from String. He stopped, his legs almost gave way. There was a large gash on his head and a deep cut on his arm. It appeared that the net did not give way all at once. String must have held on as the net fell and scraped him against the building as it descended down. He couldn't tell if he was breathing. He fell on his knees beside him.

"String, can you hear me?" He put his fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse finding a faint one. He was at least still alive. Dom felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up was a paramedic. He hadn't even heard the sirens as they pulled up. He didn't even know how long he had been there knelt beside his surrogate son.

"Sir, we will take care of him now." The man led Dom off to the side where strangers were trying to comfort him.

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Dom sat in the waiting room with his head in his hands. He lost track of time but he guessed he had been there for at least an hour without any word on String. Hearing his name he looked up to see Michael walking towards him.

"Dom, any word yet?" Dom shook his head no. "Dom you know he's strong. It would take a hell of a lot to take Hawke down."

"You didn't see him this time Michael. It was the worst I have ever seen him hurt. And you haven't been around him lately like I have. Since this thing with Sinj and Cait it's almost like he doesn't care what happens to him."

They both looked up to see the doctor walking toward them. Dom met him half way already asking questions. "Is he going to be alright Doc?"

The doctor motioned them to sit back down. "Mr. Hawke has two broken ribs, a moderate concussion and a large gash on his left arm that we stitched up. The good news is he has no internal injuries."

Dom grabbed the man in a big bear hug almost knocking his glasses off. "Oh sorry Doc, It's just that I….."

Dom took out a hankie from his back pocket trying to wipe the tears before anyone could notice. Michael put a hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Santini he is still in no shape to be doing any stunts for awhile. He is also not too happy to be here. He was in a fight with the nurses a moment ago. He thinks he is going home. I would sedate him if I could but not with this concussion. I'm hoping you can talk some sense into him.

Dom rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that sounds like String. I'll go talk to him Doc."

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"He what, that boy. When I get my hands on him he'll really have a reason to be in the hospital." Dom hung up the phone turning to Michael.

"Don't tell me, he snuck out of the hospital." Michael said as he hid his grin behind his cane.

"I swear Michael its times like these that I really miss Cait. She was the only one that could do anything with him when he got like this."

Michael smiled. "Well, there's your answer."

Dom looked puzzled." What's my answer?"

"What better way to get Cait back here?"

Dom thought for a moment then laughed as he hit Michael on the back. "Mikey, sometimes you do come up with some good ideas.

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Cait was taking some much needed time off and was back home at her parents ranch. She had to admit that this life was not as glamorous as people thought it was. The hours were long and in between takes were boring. Not to mention she missed Dom and String. She thought about the last time she saw String. She hurt him; it's not how she wanted to leave things. She was sitting by the pool sunning herself. Peeking over her sunglasses she saw her Mom walking toward her with her cell phone.

"Cait, you left this inside. Its Dom, he wants to talk to you."

"Hey Dom, I was just thinking about you and String."

"Sweetheart, I need to talk to you about String."

Cait's face went pale, "He's ok isn't' he.

Cait was looking out the window of the plane. Dom didn't go into a lot of detail. All she knew was he was hurt in a stunt accident. He said he needed her there. She didn't question it. Less than two hours later she was on a plane.

Dom was watching each passenger that exited the plane. A wide grin spread across his face as he spotted Cait. It was if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. If anyone could get through to him she could.

Dom pulled into the familiar diner that the three of them used to frequent for lunch. Finding a booth they sat down and ordered.

"Ok Dom, tell me what's really going on. I know String is injured but I get the feeling there is more to it."

Dom decided to get right to the point. "Well I told you he was hurt pretty bad and that he would be ok, but what I didn't tell you is he left the hospital on his own and is hiding out at that cabin of his refusing help."

Cait looked up at the waitress as she sat their plates down."Thank you" She waited until she left their table. "What is it you want me to do Dom?"

"Cait, String never did tell me what happened between the two of you until a week ago when I practically had to drag it out of him."

"I know, I have been thinking a lot about that lately. He tried to tell me he loved me."

"And you didn't believe him."

Cait was taken back by Dom's demeanor. "Dom I had a right to doubt him."

"Let me ask you something Cait. Why did you leave in the first place?"

"I told you Dom, I said I loved him and he said he didn't feel the same way."

Dom was looking down at his food as he was pouring on the salt. "So why did you believe him then?"

"Because String would never lie to me….."

Dom pointed a finger at her. "Exactly. Did it ever occur to you that both times he was telling you the truth. You know him Cait, he would never say he loved someone unless he meant it. I think he never realized he loved you until you left."

Cait was silent trying to sort through all this. "I don't know Dom, this is so much to take in."

"Well we've got time to sort through this later. Right now I need you at the cabin knocking some sense into his head.

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Cait landed the jet ranger on the dock. She had been gone twelve weeks. She was not sure how well received she would be by String. Dom warned her that the last time he checked on him he was practically tossed out on his ear. She took her bag out and proceeded to the cabin. There was no answer to her knock.

'String, you here?" She shouted out. There was no answer. She opened the door sitting her luggage down and searched the room with her eyes.

"Oh my God, String." Cait ran to the couch. It looked like he had collapsed there. She felt his head, he was burning up. On the table were bandages. It looked like he was trying to put a clean bandage on his arm. She pulled the old one off. It was badly infected. "Stubborn jackass" she said not realizing it.

She hung up the phone. Michael and Marella were on they're way. She went in the kitchen and grabbed a clean dish towel drenching it in cold water she laid it on his forehead. He didn't stir. She finished taking off the soiled bandage and cleaned the wound wrapping it back up when she was done. It wasn't long after that she heard Michael land outside.

An hour later she was standing at the door waving goodbye. Michael was able to get him up to bed with her help. Marella gave him a shot of antibiotics and left a bottle for him to take three times a day. She thought he would be fine if he had enough sense to stay in bed and rest. The infection had really weakened him.

Cait climbed to the loft. She stood over him as he slept. He looked worn. She had never seen him this way. She pulled his shoes and socks off working her way to his jeans. It wasn't easy but she managed to get them off. She pulled the covers over him and sat in the chair by his bed. She wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Dom offered to stay with her but she told him she was fine. He was getting behind at the hangar and it was best he take care of business while she took care of String.

It was a restless night. String had moaned and fought her in his sleep trying to get out of bed. She was exhausted trying to keep him there. It was morning; she placed the digital thermometer on his head. 99.3. His fever was down. He wasn't due to start the antibiotics for a few hours. She wanted him to sleep as much as possible. Deciding he would be out a few more hours she headed downstairs to the couch to get a few hours of sleep in. She woke three hours later, more then she intended to sleep. She went upstairs to check on him.

She had just taken his temperature again and turned to set the thermometer on the dresser.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Cait was startled. She turned around to String trying to get out of bed. She had expected this reaction from him. She was in no mood to put up with his fits. "Lay back down Hawke. If you don't I will tie you to the bed. If you think I'm playing around here just try me, I dare you."

String thought about challenging her but she stood firmly by the bed with her hands on her hips head cocked to one side her lips pursed tightly together. Looking at her he believed she would follow through with her threats and as weak as he felt she would succeed. He fell back into the pillow with a groan. His hand went immediately to his side as he tried to soothe his broken ribs. Cait softened as she went to help him under the cover.

"Damn stubborn man" She whispered under her breath.

String heard her. "I didn't ask you to come here did I?"

Cait finished fixing his bed and headed down stairs to fix him lunch. "I didn't say you did."

Sitting the bowl of broth down she went to help him sit up. He pushed her arm away. "I can do it myself." He slowly sat up. She could tell he was in pain. They probably gave him pain pills that he never took. She made a mental note to look for them later. She brought the bowl closer to him dipping the spoon in the bowl she brought it up to his mouth. He turned his head away as he raised one eyebrow.

"I'm not hungry."

Cait was losing patience with him and she had only been there less than twenty four hours. "Look String, I know you don't want me here, I don't even want me here so the sooner you get better the sooner I can leave."

Her answer came in the form of him slowly rolling onto his side facing away from her. "Go home Cait."

'Fine, have it your way. I can't force food down you but will you a least take the antibiotic. This infection is nothing to play around with.

String took the pill and glass of water from her. He didn't want to admit it but he did think what he pulled wasn't one of the smartest moves he had made.

Cait got up to leave. "I'll be down stairs if you need me."

"Dom beg you to come and babysit me?"

She stopped at the top of the stairs and answered him without turning around. "No, he just asked."

The cabin was in need of some straightening up so Cait rolled up her sleeves and starting cleaning up. She could hear String moan from the pain in his ribs. She looked around the bar and spotted the pain pills they had given him. She took two out and crushed them. She warmed the broth back up adding the crushed pills. If she pulled this off there would be hell to pay when he woke up from the drug induced sleep. She hated to trick him but he wasn't going to get a restful sleep with his ribs hurting the way they were. Now if she could get him to eat.

String watched her as she again sat the bowl down. He kept the smile hid from her that was threatening to cross his face. One thing you could say about Cait, she didn't give up easily.

"I'm not leaving until you eat this." She said standing with her arms crossed.

Deciding she would do exactly as she said he took the bowl and starting eating. Cait bit her lower lip. She hoped he couldn't taste the pills. He emptied the bowl and handed it back to her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She wondered what had caused his sudden change.

She went about putting away his clothes that she had washed. "Can I get anything else for you?" She was surprised by his answer.

"Yeah, you can sit with me for awhile." His eyes were getting sleepy but she didn't think he noticed he was drugged yet.

Cait pulled the chair closer to the bed. String was trying to talk but his words started to slur. He tried to open his eyes wider. "Did you drug me?" was the last thing he said before he drifted into a peaceful pain free sleep.

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The morning sun came through the window and was met by one open eye. String slowly opened the other one. Cait was standing in front of the dresser with the thermometer. She approached the bed to take his temperature. He didn't let her know he was awake. As she reached down to place it on his forehead he reached for her wrist pulling her down in bed with him.

"String, what are you doing? Let me up. You're going to injure your ribs again." Cait struggled to get up but he held her tight. She didn't know how he managed it but he had flipped her on her back and was on top of her holding her arms above her head.

"Now who's in control?" He said with a mischievous grin. "Drugged me huh?"

Cait was so startled that she didn't know what to do. "I'm serious String, let me up. You're in no shape to be playing around."

String grinned. "Oh, I'm not playing." He searched her eyes. He wanted some sign from her that it was ok to kiss her. He slowly lowered his lips to hers. She closed her eyes giving him the signal that she would not object any more.

When his lips touched hers he found it was not enough to satisfy him. He was a starving man and the only nourishment he needed was Cait. He let go of one wrist so he could unbutton her shirt. He continued to kiss her everywhere there was exposed skin. Running out of skin he moved off of her so he could remove her jeans. He didn't get the chance. Once free she quickly removed them herself.

They made love until it was dark out. There were few words spoken between them. Cait lay in his arms as he stroked her hair. She knew they needed to talk but right now all she wanted to do was enjoy this moment. They could work things out later. Looking at the clock she jumped out of bed putting on one of his shirts.

"Dang, I almost forgot your medicine." She handed him the glass of water and pill that was on the night stand. String didn't protest and took it. He patted the bed and motioned for her to return. She was under the covers snuggling up to him. He had built a fire in the fireplace. They both watched in silence as the flames danced around the logs.

String was the first to break the silence. "I do love you Cait. I hope you believe me."

Cait turned so she could look in his eyes. "I do believe you."

He pushed the strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes over her ear. "What changed your mind?"

"Dom did. You know he is a very smart man."

String laughed. "Yeah, he's smart all right. He knew what he was doing when he asked you here. He knew I wouldn't be able to resist if you were here."

Cait was now on top of him, "Oh so you admit you can't resist me huh?" She lightly kissed his chest being careful not to hurt his ribs. "I missed you. So many times I thought of coming back. When I was being held by the terrorist I kept thinking that you would be there to get me out."

String flinched at her words. He was still having a hard time dealing with what happened to her. If he would not have let her go in the first place it wouldn't have happened. Cait knew what he was thinking.

"Don't even go there String. Besides, if I hadn't gone you would have never found St. John."

String was silent. Cait laid back beside him. "String what happened between you and St. John when he left?

String thought a moment before he spoke "He said he was sorry he hurt me but if he had it to do all over again he probably would make the same choice."

Cait held him tight. "String I'm so sorry. I wish things could have been different. I know how much finding him meant to you. For all it's worth I do think he loves you in his own way,"

String pulled her closer to him. "One thing I did learn from all of this. You meant more to me than finding Sinj but I didn't realize it. I have never felt as alone as when you left. Promise me you'll never leave me."

Cait kissed him softly on the lips. "I promise I'll never leave you. Now promise me that you won't pull any more foolish stunts like leaving the hospital"

"I promise." He said as he moved on top of her removing her shirt for the second time that nght.

The rest of the night was spent making love to each other. It would be days before anyone would hear from them.


End file.
